As her thirtieth birthday
approaches, Deputy Jill Flaherty decides it's time to live a little. When she
walks into Sawyer Anderson's bar in her sexiest dress, she's not thinking that
he's her brother's best friend or about the many women he dated during his
years as a pro hockey player. All she's thinking is that it's finally time to
confess to her longtime crush how she truly feels.

Sawyer is done being a player on and
off the ice. Yet no one in the small town of Christmas seems to believe he's
ready to settle down, not Jill, and certainly not Jack, who is determined to
keep Sawyer from breaking his little sister's heart. But as Sawyer and Jill's
relationship heats up, can he prove that he's her happy ever after?

“Now go out there and show them up,”
Ethan said, pushing her out the player’s bench door without warning. Jill’s
skates went out from under her and she fell on her butt.

Her brother laughed. "You wanna
play with the big boys, Shortstop. You gotta get rid of the girlie
skates."

"Ouch, looks like that hurt.
You might want to sit this one out, Shortstop," Sawyer said, leaning on
his stick as he watched her struggling to get up. His mouth twitched with
amusement.

He glanced at them and lifted a
padded shoulder. "It's May. Arena's warm."

Seeing him look their way, the women
cheered louder and shook their pom poms harder. Sawyer gave them a sexy smile
and waved.

On top of Jack's and Sawyer's
teasing, the women and his flirty response set off Jill's temper. "Ref,
you should be calling him for delay of game," she said to the kid with the
puck in his hand. It was Trent Dawson. One of Sawyer's star players and his
manager's son.

Sawyer laughed. "Good try,
Shortstop."

Jill ignored him and got in position,
casting a sidelong glance at Trent. Just as he was about to drop the puck, she
said, "I don't flipping believe it. They're flashing their boobs!"

Sawyer lifted his head to look at
the same time Trent released the puck. Jill got the drop on Sawyer, shooting
the puck to Brad.

"You always did play dirty," Sawyer
said, laughing as he whizzed past her.

Within seconds, he'd wrested the
puck from Brad and was heading back into their end with breathtaking speed.

"The only way to win this game
is take Anderson out," Brad said with a determined look on his face as he
skated past her.

Wait?
What? "No, Brad, you . . ." She started to call after him, but he
was already heading for Sawyer. No matter how much she wanted to win--not only
to make a point to her brother and Sawyer, but to get in Gage's good
graces--she had to stop Brad. Another concussion could cause Sawyer irreparable
damage. She skated as if his life depended on it. Sawyer was at the hash mark,
Brad a foot behind him. She launched herself at Brad, putting an arm behind him
to protect his head as they fell. Her breath came out on a whoosh as she landed
hard on her teammate, releasing a pained groan when her chin hit the ice.

Debbie
Mason is USA Today bestselling
author of the Christmas, Colorado series. Her books have been
praised for their "likable characters, clever dialogue and juicy
plots" (RT Book Reviews). She also writes historical paranormals as Debbie
Mazzuca. Her MacLeod series has received several nominations for best
paranormal as well as a Holt Medallion Award of Merit. When she isn't writing
or reading, Debbie enjoys spending time with her very own real-life hero, their
four wonderful children, an adorable grandbaby, and a yappy Yorkie named Bella.